


Fire Creates Bonds

by childofmischief



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Character Development, Drew is actually quite nice, F/M, PTSD, Piper has a little PTSD, Sisters bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 08:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12553016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childofmischief/pseuds/childofmischief
Summary: Piper has been slipping away from campfires almost every night this week. Unbeknownst to her, Drew has noticed, and finally, her concern and curiosity got the better of her and she went to find her. They have a short little talk, and leave knowing more about each other and maybe, Drew isn't as mean and cold as Piper had thought.





	Fire Creates Bonds

Piper slipped away from the campfire again, the fourth time this week, Drew noticed. Jason didn’t even seem to notice, too sucked into his own thoughts. Despite what people say about her, Drew doesn’t actually hate Piper, and was actually concerned about her sister. 

“I’ll be back.” Drew said to her friends, and before they could answer, slipped off to find Piper. As Drew walked away from the warmth of everyone she knew, she caught the eye of Hestia. Most demigods don’t even notice her, but Drew did, just this once. The goddess smiled sadly at her, and gestured in the direction Piper went. 

“And remember Drew, you don’t always have to be mean.” Hestia whispered, before turning back to her hearth. 

Drew stared at her a few seconds, before finally saying, “Thank you.” Drew whispered, and calmly went the way the goddess had said. The sky darkened above her, a calm twilight spreading across her home. In time, she found Piper sitting, with her knees drawn to her chest and head buried in her knees, and shoulders shaking. For a moment, Drew stood awkwardly behind her, holding her breath. 

“Piper?” She finally asked, Piper startling and quickly rubbing her eyes and not turning. Drew almost tiptoed closer, and sat on the damp sand, wincing at the thought of how hard it would be to get out of her pants. “Are-are you okay?”

Piper didn’t answer, just stared to the water, biting her lip so hard Drew feared she would draw blood. “Go away, Drew.” Piper snapped, and went to stand back up, more tears welling in her eyes. Drew grabbed the bottom of her shirt, and looked up.

“Sit. Back. Down.” She all but demanded, and Piper sighed heavily, and complied. Piper refused to look at her, and just stared back up at the sky, her eyes fixated on nothing as if reliving a memory. Drew was silent, and allowed it to happen for a few minutes, before breaking the fragile silence. “What’s wrong?” Drew asked, Piper refusing to look into her eyes.

“It’s nothing.” Piper said curtly, as if she could hide anything from Drew, or any of her siblings. Aphrodite kids weren’t just about love, but were also very perceptive, and could tell when people were upset. 

“That’s bull-” She cut herself off. “That’s a lie, and we both know it.” Drew shot back, Piper suddenly shivering as the cold wind began to set in. Drew sighed. “What’s really wrong, Piper? You know I can tell when you lie.”

“It’s dumb.” Piper whispered. 

“I’ve heard a lot of dumb things, but…” Drew pondered if she really wanted to say what she was about to. She sighed. “Something dumb wouldn’t make you, of all people, so upset.”

Piper chuckled darkly and shrugged, trying to hold back burning tears. After all, Drew had already seen her upset, and she didn’t want to lose the rest of the dignity she had left. She hung her head, the distant sounds of her friends singing loudly and unabashedly at the campfire, unknowing of the inner turmoil raging in her chest. “Maybe not.” She whispered, turning to look Drew in the eyes. “But would you understand?”

Drew looked down in thought, then back at Piper. “Maybe not.” She echoed. “But I can sure as Hades try.” 

“It’s…” Piper let out a shaky breath. “Leo.” Her voice broke, and she found herself curling back into herself again. “The-the fire always reminds me of…”

“When he died.” Drew finished, and Piper nodded. They sat in silence, Drew taking it in. He died in fire, which seemed ironic, honestly. Of course Piper would be afraid of fire now, it took her first friend ever. Drew wondered if that knowledge would change their relationship. She didn’t actually hate Piper, contrary to popular belief, she was just...bad with people. The sun finally dipped below the horizon, the whole world seemingly set into darkness except for the light of the fire in the distance. 

“He was afraid of fire too.” Piper smiled weakly. “Afraid of his own power.”

“He was?” Drew asked. “I didn’t know that.”

Piper chuckled darkly and nodded. She glanced up at the sky. “Do you think mom wanted me to love him?” She asked, falling back against the soft, damp sand, knowing she would regret it later when she had to get it out of her already choppy and messy hair. 

“Did you?”

Piper paused, chewing on her bottom lip, spotting Venus in the sky, as if a sign from her mother. “I...don’t know.” She admitted. “I think so.” 

“There’s your answer.” Drew smiled softly. 

“Since when did you care about me?” Piper asked, the question having been burning in her mind for the whole ordeal. “Don’t you...don’t you hate me?” 

Drew shrugged. “I want to.” She said. “I mean, that’s my job, right? Being mean and being the embodiment of mom.” Drew laughed darkly, and hung her own head. “I’m supposed to be the pretty jerk.” She glanced back at Piper, who even with her choppy hair, with the tear tracks on her cheeks, was still beautiful. “I mean, look at you! Even when you’ve been crying you’re still more beautiful than I’ll ever be. Sometimes I feel like I’m…”

Piper sat up and found herself wrapping a tentative arm around Drew. “Overcompensating.” Piper finished and nodded. “I get it. I feel like that too most days.” Piper turned back towards the campfire, all her friends still having a good time around it. “I don’t know how I, of all people, was one of the seven.” A beat passed. “I’m so goddamn useless.”

Drew shook her head. “You know that’s not true. Just think of the change you made in our cabin in just a few weeks after becoming cabin leader!”

Piper sighed, and began to stand back up. In the distance, she spotted the dying light of the fire, and Piper looked back at Drew. “We better get going. People will wonder where we’ve gone.”

“Should we tell anyone about this?” Drew asked. “I do have a reputation to uphold.”

“Do you want to uphold it?” Piper asked, and Drew shrugged. 

“I don’t know.”


End file.
